The powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Thursday dismissed South Korean claims that the North is removing some of its loudspeakers along the inter-Korean border, mocking the government in Seoul for clinging to hopes of renewed diplomacy between the war-divided rivals.
Kim Yo-jong’s statement came after South Korea’s military said on Saturday it had detected the North removing some of its loudspeakers, days after the South dismantled its own front-line speakers used for anti-North propaganda broadcasts in a bid to ease tensions.
Kim reiterated previous North Korean statements that it has no immediate interest in reviving long-stalled negotiations with Washington and Seoul and cited a coming joint military exercise between the allies as proof of their continued hostility toward Pyongyang.
While saying that North Korea was removing some of its speakers, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff did not disclose the sites where it spotted such activity and said it was not immediately clear whether the North would take all of them down.
During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, South Korea’s new liberal President Lee Jae Myung described the North’s alleged steps as a “reciprocal measure” to South Korea’s speaker removals and expressed hope that the Koreas could “gradually reopen dialogue and communication”.
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South Korea removes border loudspeakers in push for peace with the North
South Korea removes border loudspeakers in push for peace with the North
Kim accused Lee’s government of misleading the public, saying that the North Koreans “have never removed loudspeakers installed on the border area and are not willing to remove them”.